Dragon Scales, A Series of Short Stories
by The Muse of Light of LOCAT
Summary: Welcome to Dragon Scales! Here are some background stories from some intriguing dragons, from the Rainwing healer Cherry and her medicines to the tales of the frail Orphius and his experience with the kingdom of the sea, here's a collection of tales you'll never forget! Rated T for death, violence, manipulation, torture, abuse, and other various things. Features various OC's.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, Sol here.  
**

 **First story, yay!  
** **This is a collection of short stories that are backgrounds to my wings of fire dragons. Each will allow a little insight into their talents, weaknesses, abilities, and secrets, regrets... Well, with that in mind, Here's Cherry's backstory.** **Hope you all like it!**

 **So without further ado, welcome to "Dragon Scales"!**

 **-Sol**

* * *

" _Gotcha!"_

Cherry caught the small bird as it fell, looking it over. It was bright blue, no bigger than one of her talons. She scowled at the nightwing dragonet who had caused the near misshap of the poor tiny feathery creature; it's small chirps echoing through the rainforest. She was in a small field clearing, in collecting herbs and aloe for her newest remedy for hornet and wasp stings that would draw out infection while healing the wound.

"Shame!" The rainwing scowled again. "It's a baby, just go eat something else?"

"What's it matter to you, defect?" The nightwing snarled. His green eyes pierced through her like a spear; cold and daunting. He leapt from his treetop perch and got in her face, so close that they almost touched noses.  
"You're nothing in comparison to us! Just because your false queen rules us does not mean you can boss us around!" He barked loudly. Cherry blinked, taking a step back. She was offended, greatly.

"Queen Glory is AMAZING I'll let you know!" She said, her scales turning to an unpleasant red color, spiked with green stripes of anguish. "You just need to get a clearer head! If she HADN'T let you stay here,, you would all be left out somewhere with nowhere to-"

She yelped as the nightwing brought his claws over her face. She shrieked and fell over, rolling out of the way of his next swipe.

"Don't, you **DARE** ," the nightwing roared, slamming his tail over Cherry's head.

" ** _EVER_** , COMPARE _US_ TO **_YOU_**!"

Cherry's scales shot white from the pain, and she held the tiny bird safely in her claws, desperately trying not to squash it as she dodged the nightwing's raging attacks.

"You are NOTHING, and we had it all, we could have rebuilt our own empire!" He tried to charge at her, and slammed into her shoulder. Cherry flew backwards into a nearby tree. Several large birds flew from the tree, yelling high-pitched shrills and tweets of distress.

"We're here because your so-called "Queen" Forced us too!" He howled, baring his fangs. Cherry protectively cradled the small bird, and rolled quickly to dodge the nightwings next head-butt. He slammed into the tree and screeched loudly.

"I didn't mean to hurt you!" She called out. Hidden in the bushes on the other side of the clearing was her medical bag. If she could just reach it, she could end this whole thing quickly...  
Cherry rolled and tried to make it seem like she had headed in that direction, when he smashed into her from behind. She was sent flying several meters forward, pain shooting through her back. Cherry fell on her shoulder, and rolled a few meters forward. She gently rammed into a tree, right beside her bag.

The rainwing looked at her attacker, and he was looking away from her, saying things like "Nightwings didn't need help" And "Stupid Glory...", all terrible things. Though Cherry didn't have time to listen.

She took this chance to look around her, and an idea formed in her head.

A small way to the nightwing's left was a bunch of tight-kit bushes, filled with thorns.  
 _Verium Roses,_ she thought. _The thorns cause itchiness and rashes beyond average repair..._ Still looking, she finally noted the deep scarlet flora growing near the Verium. A cluster of red berries that were about the size on nan-king cherries were growing in bundles, the red flowers in full bloom. _  
_

_That's jackeye's berry, its toxic to anyone who eats or smells it close enough, and it's berries resemble that of ground cherries! Perfect!_

Cherry began quickly running over a scenario in her head and swiftly, as to avoid being seen, reached her tail into her bag and rummaged around; feeling for something.

At last, she withdrew a small, yellow leaf pouch tied with grass. Cherry quickly tucked it under her wing, and set the baby bird behind the tree as to avoid it getting trampled. It chirped meekly and flew away.

Cherry pulled herself to her feet just in time to catch the nightwings last sentence. "So," He growled, slowly walking to her. "Are you going to surrender, or do I make this painful to prove how superior we are to you venom-spitting snails?" He snarled fiercely.  
Cherry however, didn't cower. Instead, she smiled kindly, her scales turning back to her standard teal and pink. She circled around him, so her back was to the Jackeye and the Verium.

 _If he runs at me with just a little more force, I'll be good... I just need to figure out how to "blind" him._

"I think," She said, in a quiet calm tone. "That you need to really rethink your whole legacy, after all... I thought the nightwings were known for their lies, after all."

This snapped her opponent.

The nightwing paused and seconds later he was charging at her faster and with more force than before. Seconds before the impact, Cherry threw herself to the side.  
The black dragon, unable to stop himself, crashed into the verium roses and hollered loudly.

Cherry walked up and swiftly grew a lime green powder from the pouch. She held her breath, and tossed it in his face.

The nightwing took one whiff of the mixture and began thrashing loudly, coughing and hacking as the green spores filled his nose and mouth. He tried to sneeze, but it was no use.  
"This is Amua," Cherry said Quietly, sitting a safe distance from the withering nightwing. "It's a poisonous air contamination that won't leave any traces behind, because it even soaks through scales... making it impossible to escape from when provoked." The green was already fading quickly. The nightwing choked briefly, and fell over again after trying to stand. Cherry continued.

"It's definably toxic, and is similar to the reaction dragons get when eating Jackeye berries." She slowly smiled. The nightwing gave her one last look with a green eye, before doubling over; unconscious.

The rainwing waited a few muinets till she knew the spore had soaken into his scales, before going back to retrieve her medical bag. She felt a guilty lump form in her throat, but who could blame her? She hated using those types of powders, especially on dragons.  
If she hadn't however, she probably would have been dead by now. He wasn't willing to listen.  
She sighed, and walked back over to the attacker, who was still mangled in the brushes. Cherry quickly applied some ointment from a coconut shell to the scratches on her face and body, and after a while they cleared up easily. Happy that the damage wasn't too sufficient, she looked at the nightwing, making sure he was still breathing. Thankfully, he was.

 _It's alright Cher, after all. Sometimes peace requires a little push forward._

A few seconds later, she heard wingbeats.

Cherry looked up to see Pineapple and Terrace land behind her. Pineapple was frowning and Terrace looked scared. Cherry wasn't sure if they had seen the ordeal, but she kept a straight face. Her heart was beating faster than it had before

"What happened?" Said Pineapple, cautiously approaching the nightwing. He looked at the bushes and back to Cherry, a worried expression on his face. "Did you find him here?"

 _Thank goodness._

Cherry almost gave a sigh of relief, but held it in. She kept a straight face and frowned in concern. "I was out here looking for some herbs and aloe leaves, when I found him totally wiped out." She lied, her scales changing to a concerned yellow-green color. Cherry hated lying, but in the end it would be beneficial to both herself and the nightwing in the end.

Terrace approached the nightwing and sniffed. "He must have eaten the berries," He muttered, eyeing the Jackeye.

"I thought the same." Cherry's expression saddened. She was sad after all, if the nightwing has simply accepted what she had said, none of this would have happened. Pineapple looked at Terrace.

"Go tell Glory what happened, I think we'll need to send in a few rainwings to talk to the nightwing dragonets about the dangers of the berries. She needs to know this happened. We figured it would at some point." Terrace nodded and took off into the sky. The sunny yellow and green striped rainwing looked back to Cherry with a calming expression.

"Don't worry about it." He said, putting a wing over her. She nodded.

"Um, Pineapple..?"

"Yes?"

Cherry shuffled little and looked at the older dragon. "Can, can I fix him?"

Pineapple looked at her and nodded, seemingly taken back by any other idea. "Of course!" He exclaimed, pulling away. "You're a great healer Cherry, I don't know what we would do without you! And since you found him, it only makes sense.." He paused, and turned to take off. "I'll go back to the village to get help getting the poor guy outta there." He nodded to the Verium rose bush" So, want him in your hut?"

"Yes please. Thank you Pineapple!"

Pineapple gave a cherry salute. "No problem! I'll be back soon! Wait here with em for me would'ja? Thanks!" He flew off in the direction of the village. Cherry let out a huge sigh of relief, and smiled at the nightwing.

"Don't you worry, I'll fix you up. Then, maybe we can talk a little more civilized..."

* * *

It was almost evening when Spectral woke up.

He felt sore all over, through his bones, his skull... The nightwing groaned and rolled over, only to find his body was covered in various leaf wraps and bandages. Spectral was lying in what seemed to be a grassy nest for dragons. He tried to stand up, and yelped; falling back onto the nest.

"Please," Said a calming voice that he recognized. "Don't move. You'll only make it take longer."

Spectral peered open one emerald eye and saw the rainwing he had attacked sitting a ways in front of him, just like that day. She was wearing a strange headdress, or...was it a crown?  
It was made with the most beautiful blue lilies and feathers, with golden berries attached to decorate it. Silver leaves and willow branches had made the frame of the headpiece and a matching necklace.

Looking around, he recognized the rainwing hut almost instantly. There were shelves and baskets, all lined with various items he assumed were for medicinal purposes. A slightly bitter smell lingered from a pot a small distance away. The dying rays of sunshine filtered in through the hut ceiling and walls, as well as through the nearby window in which he lay, completely useless.

He went to roar at her, but instead of voice he felt phlegm fill his lungs.

He coughed loudly and hoarsely, and the rainwing held a gourd in front of him. He seemed reluctant at first, refusing the rainwing's help at every cost, but finally coughed into the cleaned out fruit carcass. The rainwing smiled.

"There you go, isn't that better?" She said sweetly. The nightwing made a face at her.

"You.." He said meekly. She smiled again, and walked over to a shelf, surveying the contents on it. "I what?"

"You did... this..."

He managed to wheeze out the words, and breathing was an issue. He managed to muster a small, weak growl. "You poisoned me, you could have killed me-"

"No, actually." Cherry interrupted, plucking a jar from the assortment of powders and other various medicines from the shelf. It was filled with a light blue sparkly powder. She shook it and opened the cap slightly and took a small sniff. She turned to him and gave a sad smile, putting the jar back on the shelf.

"It wouldn't have killed you. It's rather toxic yes, and it's a bother, but that doesn't make it lethal. There's a major difference." She went back to rummaging around her shelves, and went through some baskets too.

"Whatever." The nightwing grumbled. "I'll be telling you what you did, all of them." He turned over to face the side of the wall, listening to Cherry rummage around her hut. He heard her small "aha!" Of success and snorted.

"I don't think that's wise." She advised, pulling out a cattail from a nearby basket and grabbing two jars; one filled with a whitish-powder, the other a shimmering sparkle dust. The healer sat down and pulled over a hollowed out acorn squash and added the powders, whisking them with the cattail.

"You don't want to be known for attacking one our own, right?"

"You aren't one of us."

Cherry sighed, dribbling in a small amount of gel into the mix along with some crushed winterberries. "We are now, even if we don't like it." She grabbed a firmer stick that was shaped to look like a small broom but attached at the ends, and started mixing the powder-gel mix.

"It'll only be best for us to work together. If we do anything but... It'll just put more at risk."

Cherry stopped mixing the silvery gelatin, and pushed it off to the side. She grabbed two more powders, a dark blue one and a simmering red one. She tipped small amounts into a pineapple filled with water, and stirred it with a different branch. She looked the nightwing in the eyes, her pink to his green. They paused, and he turned back to face the other way as she knelt to continue stirring.

"We are all valuable, in our own ways, and I think nightwings and rainwings would make an amazing team." She said happily, adding a few drops of what seemed to be nectar into the water. It turned a sparkling yellow color.

Spectral gave a snort. "Why's that? All we've ever done was treat you trashy. I thought rainwings were supposed to be lazy and not helpful. Which, you guys aren't. By the way." Cherry looked at the silvery gelatin, and slipped a tiny portion into a coconut shell. The rest she slid into a different glass jar, and stuck a small silver leaf on the outside. Cherry placed it on the shelf with the others.

"I like nightwings. You guys are so mysterious, and you know a lot." She paused, and poured a small amount into the coconut shell. "Also, way better fighters than us. Plus super cool history and such, though I don't fully get it."

Spectral grumbled. He wasn't buying it at all. Cherry sighed. "Look," She said. "I'm just trying to be nice. AT least give me a little credit?"

He had already rolled over in disgust.

She set down the coconut shell beside him, and after a few seconds smiled. "Drink that. It'll help you out a little. Don't worry about it." She looked outside at the cascading darkness that had unfolded over phyrrea. "I need to get some rest," She announced suddenly, as if an audience was there. Spectral rolled his eyes. Stupid quirky rainwings.

"I'll be back in the morning to check on you, but for now stay put. We can talk more about our feelings and acts against each other tomorrow, alright?" Cherry trotted to the entrance of the hut and looked back. "I'll even let you tell me how terrible I am!" She joked. Sliding off her necklace and headdress, she set them on a grassy post near the entrance to the hut.

"Goodnight, get some rest. Maybe you'll have a different view on things for tomorrow."

With that, she took off into the sky to her nightly sleeping quarters. Spectral grumbled again, and pulled the mix close. He sniffed it cautiously. It smelt like... honey? Almost? Whatever it was, it tasted decent, he would give the rainwing that much. He drank it, and almost instantly the burning in his chest subsided. He also felt fairly lightheaded. Deciding it was an aftereffect of whatever she used, a sleeping drug he assumed; like the ones the rainwings used in their darts, he curled up and went to sleep.

* * *

Morning came slowly for Cherry as she flew down to her healers hut. She had been called in by Glory that morning to talk about the "incident", and they had both agreed that a talk on berries and such would be useful for both tribes.

Landing outside the hut, her breath was held. Did it work? Did he trust her enough to drink it? She slipped inside, pulling on her headdress and necklace.

Thankfully, the nightwing had taken her remedy. Cherry sighed happily. "Oh good..." She mused, looking at the silvery gelatin. It sparkled dimly in the slow sunlight, making it seem to glow wondrously. A smile shone on her face.

 _Now, to see if it worked._

She started to tidy up her hut, sorting through the baskets, putting powders and medicines away, and cleaning her tools and bandages off. She cleaned off the cocnut shell he had drank from as to use it when he woke up next.  
As she was washing her bamboo "whisk", she heard Spectral stir in his sleep. The nightwing rolled over, and gently pulled into a curled up ball, blinking his eyes sleepily.

"Huh.." He muttered, "Wh...where am I... what happ... happe...ned..nd?" The nightwing looked at Cherry, who was smilling as brilliantly as the uns rays.

"Oh good, you're awake!" She cried happily, her scales flushing bring yellow and pink from her excitement. Spectral blinked again, and rubbed his eyes.  
"Wh-who are you again? We met, right?"

Cherry giggled, and shook off the whisk; tossing it into the basket with her other tools. "Yup! I'm Cherry. I helped you recover."

"Recover from.. what? God, my head.."

Cherry poured a small bit of water into the shell and handed it to him. The nightwing took it, with a small "Thanks."

Cherry frowned with a worried expression. "You ate some berries that cause extreme swelling and are usually really poisonous." Her frown vanished though into a relieved smile. "I'm happy I found you, or else you would have been sick for ages! You fell into some fearsome bushes too, which is what those are from." Cherry gestured to the cuts and scraps that had been bandaged.

The nightwing blinked, drinking the water. "R-really? I don't recall... well, no, I was in the rainforest yesterday..." He said, lifting his head as to look at Cherry. "Don't remember why I was there though."

"That's ok!" Cherry laughed, and walked over to him. "She pointed to his bandages. "You were probably hunting and saw them thinking they looked edible, which I don't blame you. They taste good, till the poison kicks in." Cherry sat down. "

I patched you up just fine, but I would like you to stay a while, to make sure the injuries don't extend or end up being infected. Though they shouldn't. It's just to make sure."

The nightwing smiled slightly. "Gee... thank you."

Cherry patted his head. "You're welcome!~" She sang out, turning around. "You probably went to hunt, I found a birds nest close to where you fell over." She paused slightly before continuing. "You know that if you want meat, it would be better to have the adults right? Besides, the babies wouldn't sustain you at all. Besides eating babies is kind of cruel, isn't it?"

Spectral Blinked again. "Oh! That makes sense!" He nodded eagerly. "Yeah, of course. I'll be careful. I'll tell my friend too once I'm back."

Cherry smiled gratefully. "Thank you, um..."

The nightwing held out a claw. "Spectral. That's my name." He grinned. Cherry took his claw and shook it. "I'm Cherry, nice to meet you!"

"Likewise, you're really good at the whole healing thing."

"Thank you, after all, it's what I do!"

Cherry looked out into the sun-filled rainforest. "Say, I'll bring you back some food from this morning, alright?"

The nightwing thanked her again and curled up to sleep off the rest of the poison. Cherry flew through the trees, her scales warm and happy from the sun.

It was times ;like these that helped peace.

Even if it seemed unfair, it helped in the end.

It made everyone happier, and it was one closer step to bonding the tribes together.

Cherry laughed and did a barrel roll in the sky, diving into a nearby watermelon patch.

 _Oh, today's going to be a good, good day!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello Dearest Friends,**

 **Sol again. Who else would it be? Hehehe.**

 **Ah, mudwings. Gorgeous tribe that doesn't get that much attention, sadly. I wish we had a bigger view on their tribe, there's so much room for expansion on mudwing traditions! Mudwings and Sandwings are my favorite tribes, especially since there's huge holes in their lore that leaves us plenty of room to imagine what life must have been like.**

 **This brings us to Rune, a hybrid between the two often overlooked tribes. Born in the sandwing kingdom, raised by mudwings, this bigwings really doesn't like fighting. Enjoy!**

 **-Sol**

* * *

The sun was hot. Hotter than usual. So hot, that Rune thought even the skywings wouldn't be able to withstand it. The sandwing-mudwing lolled over, glancing at his pack of unsibs; who were also bathing in the large mud bath. The mud was warm on the surface, and cooler where it was deeper. In other words, it was perfect.

Everything was perfect.

Then again, it rarely wasn't.

Quiver was purring in the sun, her light brown head resting on a bundle of reeds she had gathered to make a grassy pillow. Pond and Pound were curled up, their tails entwined as to make sure they didn't sink too far into the mud.  
They had the exact same scale and eye colors, the only difference being that Pound was slightly smaller than his brother. It was hard to separate those twins, even for hunting they insisted on going together.

Avid was lying on the bank of the puddle, with his tail dipped in the mud. Although a little odd, Avid was the dragon Rune would trust with anything. The amber mudwing had the most tactical out of the group of unsibs. Rune couldn't remember when he was ever wrong, in fact. It was comforting to know his brother was so smart.

Lastly, the youngest out of the group had fallen asleep between Rune and Quiver. Muse was small, but treasured, a three moon old baby. She was much darker in color in comparison to the rest of them, and she was a treasure; with one shining blue eye and one rich brown. She was Rune's pride and joy, a red egg found abandoned in an old nest just outside the kingdom. She was everyone's treasure, the best type of treasure in fact.

The tiny mudwing yawned sleepily, rolling into Rune's side. He smiled and pulled her into his side with his golden wing. She squirmed slightly, before nuzzling into her bigwing's warmth.

Rune looked down at the dark colored mudwing; her scales made her look like a pile of deep earth; covered in the wet ground puddle that the siblings had submerged themselves in for the afternoon. As a calming summer breeze swept over the mud, the call of a faraway crane carried it's cries. The sound seemed to fill the marsh with life; the trickle of a nearby stream, the sound of mud sliding and squishing gently under the feet of small sparkling sparrows as they scrounged for worms hidden beneath the muddy surface.

Rune felt Muse mumble something into his side, and he pulled her closer. The mudwing dragonet gently waved her tail back and forth in the mud, content with the shade of her bigwing's wing. His unsib... no. That wasn't right.

He never called them unsibs, to him, they were his true sibs. Even with Rune's sandwing eyes and frill, his sibs loved him, and he loved them.

And that was all that mattered.

Rune closed his eyes, the feeling of the mud on his scales and the warm sun closing over him like a wave. A nice, warm, comforting wave. The thickness of the muddy pool made him feel like he was one with the earth. Calm. Resting. At peace. Sleepy.

"Rue?" Rune rolled over to face Quiver. She was peering at him with one big, hazel eye.

"Yeah?"

His sister hauled herself out of the mud, yawning as a warm breeze swept across the mud filled pond. "I think we should go hunting, all the good prey is coming out now." Rune gently lifted Muse onto firm ground before pulling himself up from the muddy bank; shaking his brownish gold scales. Despite being part mudwing and therefore having substantial muscles, he was smaller than her by quite a bit. Pond looked up from his pile with Pound, who was snoring loudly.

"We gonna eat now?" He stretched his neck out. Rune nodded.

"Yeah, it's probably the best idea. If we're lucky, we might catch that bison herd that was moving up from the delta." Avid pulled his tail from the mud and flicked it gingerly. Rune wasn't the only odd one here; Avid had a skywing background somewhere in his family line that dated almost from before start of the great sandwing war. The only resemblance was his eyes, thin, judgmental, and thoughtful, like a jaguar's.

Instantly Pond was standing up, his tail lashing out back and forth in excitement. In his hustle to get up, he pushed his sleeping twin into the mud with a big splash. Avid jumped to his feet, glancing back at where the mudwing had fallen. A few seconds later he resurfaced, covered in mud.

" _GEEZ_ ," He yelled, shaking his head off which flung mud everywhere. Pound glared at Pond. "You didn't need to _throw_ me! I'M not a bison, am I?"

"You act like it sometimes!" Pond called back, throwing his tail into the mud bath so Pound could get out.

Everyone laughed.

Avid looked over everyone with bright yellow eyes. "Let's go, if we don't hurry we'll miss e-" He was cut off by Pond and Pound's cheers as they took off into the sky. "SO HURRY UP!" They called out in unison. Quiver walked over and gently scooped up Muse, looking back at Rune. "I'll head back to the shelter," He said, unfurling his wings. "I think she's exhausted, too tired to hunt today."

Quiver nodded. "Agreed, go ahead. We'll meet you there with the bison." Avid took off in a hurry, Muse held securely in his talons. The two remaining dragons watched their brother fly off, before Rune stretched his wings.

"So, shall we get going?" He joked, nudging her side with force. She snorted out a laugh. "Sure, ladies first!"

Rune pounced on her, and took off into the sky, his sib close behind him.

* * *

"You sure they're here?" Pond looked at his twin

"Yeah, see how fresh the prints are?" Pound nodded to the tracks imprinted in the muddy ground nearby. Quiver lowered her head to the mud and sniffed.

"Your brother was right, they went this way." She announced, standing back up. She padded over to a nearby bush, and rummaged around in it for a while, pulling out a chewed-on twig twig. She spat it out bitterly as the twins snickered.

"Sis is eating sticks again~"

"You could say she's a... _stick-y eater_!"

"I don't know _a-bark_ that sis, you might get sick!"

They giggles as she gave a humph of disapproval. "I wasn't eating the stick," She protested, flaring her wings. "I was seeing if the bison came this way! That's all!" The twins seemed unconvinced as they shot puns from across Rune. The bigwings couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" She demanded. Rune couldn't help but bubble out a response. "I-I'm sorry Quiv, but... your FACE..."

He doubled over laughing. The mudwing had leaves and such stuck to her face from rummaging around. She frowned at him, until she saw a glimpse of herself in the muddy surface. Then, even she was laughing.

Quiver tackled Rune to the ground, playfully shoving him into a muddy pile behind him. The bigwings roared and shoved her off into the cattails. The two began play-fighting, flinging mud at each other, head-butting, even full-blown tackles weren't ruled out. Pond nudged Pound, and the two soon joined in; the mudwings all barreling through and around the wasteland.

" _INCOMING!_ " Pond shouted, launching a huge mud ball in Rune's direction. It splattered in his face with great force, and the sandwing-mudwing spat out bits of earth in his mouth. Pond laughed, flicking his tail back and forth in victory. "

"Oh, it's ON!" Rune shouted as Pound dragged up another hefty ball of mud and chucked it, full-force, into his twin. Pond was sent flying backward from the impact, mud splattered on his scales. He flailed briefly before mustering the strength to stand again.

Quiver stopped playing and looked up close to the mouth of the delta, her eyes darting back and forth.

The three boys noticed this and pulled themselves from the mud bank, watching their sister twitch her ears in anticipation.

"Wha's it, sis?" Pond called out. Rune frowned slightly. It wasn't like her to be this jumpy. She shook herself out, and glanced back and forth from the delta to the tall grasses that border lined the center part of the kingdom from the rest.

"You hear it too?"

"What?"

Looking around Quiver's ears twitched again. "You hear that?" Rune paused, listening to his surroundings. The cranes calls and the sounds of the delta filled his senses, from the mud beneath his feet, to the smell of the wet earth in his nose. At last, he picked up a strange scent. It almost smelt like burning, but it was too wet and damp to be able to tell for sure. Rune sniffed again, this time picking up another odd smell.

"Dragonfire... Cactus?" he said, puzzled.

"That stuff only grows on mountains, yeah." Pound said as he pulled Pond off him. "Someone must'a set some off or someth'n."

Quiver stretched her wings out. "Let's check it out, I think it's coming from the delta."

 _Weird._ Rune shook his worry away. He glanced at his sibs, who had all taken off to the delta. A lump of anxiety grew in his throat. Sure, it must be an accident. There's no way that someone set it off on purpose.

The group landed at the delta, the water spewing out of the slide like usual. However, instead of the marshes being wet and comforting... smoke arose from every corner of the marsh. The sky was dark and musky with the horrendous smell of burning reeds. The sky was filled with... well, filth. Black, charcoal-ey filth. Tiny embers were lingering in the wind that had picked up

"Oh my great glorious..." Pond said, raising up on his hind legs to survey the area."It's like the place was fired. Literally." he sniffed the air, and almost choked. The stench was absolutely horrendous, with the black smog filing the sky at a slightly alarming rate. It amazed Rune that nobody had bothered to check it out yet.

Pound glanced back at Quiver. "So, wha're doin'?" She shook her head. "I'm not sure, seems that most of the fires put themselves out because of how wet it is..." She looked out into the torched wood. "MY question is who did this, and why...?"

Rune spread his wings. "C'mon, let's check up on Avid. I don't like this."

"Wait."

Quiver nudged her brother. "We should split up and report this to the queen, if possible."

Rune felt dumbfounded. "But, what if they come back-"  
He quieted as Quiver nuzzled him affectionately. "Don't worry so much, we'll be fine. You take Pond, I'll take Pound. We'll meet you back at the shelter alright?"

Rune nodded, and yelled at the twins to come close. Although they seemed reluctant to be apart, the two older dragonets had managed to tear them away and soon enough the groups had set off.

Pond glanced up at his brother and leaped into action; following Rune's flight path. Rune's stomach pitted as they picked up altitude; the ground was just bombarded in cactus blasts. Although he deemed himself away from all forms of involvement here, he had a feeling that those cactus weren't meant just to be a friendly warning for the hybrid.

Rune shivered as his elder's warning seethed in the back of his mind; ringing out like a thousand tiny bells.

 _Be careful what you wish for, traitor._

 _The queen doesn't like a double-crosser, especially on her own grounds._

 _You'll regret it._

* * *

The wind was much more bitter now as the day had progressed and Rune was finding it hard to keep up with his pack. Heart racing, he soared up higher and higher as to spot his shelter. Cold wind attacked his wings; as to try to swat him out of the sky with an invisible hand. He spat bitterly and continued.

"I think a storm's coming in," Pond hollered as to be heard over the raging current. "Let's get lower, we'll spot it faster that way."

Rune acknowledged this and dove closer to the ground, so he was just under the thick mass of clouds he had gotten tangled in. There was a light drizzle of rain on his scales and he shivered. The sandwing part of him grumbled. He wasn't all that fond of rain. Mud was fine, it was cool and heavy and didn't feel like slimy cold spit on his scales. Rain did though.  
The drizzle soon graduated to a light but annoying downpour. Rune cursed profoundly as Pond caught up with him; the mudwing was licking the rain off his face.

"How much further do you think we'll need to go?"

"Not much, see?" Rune nodded to a creek below. "It's only a little ways away. Look there."

Pond followed suit and propelled forward to a hut in the near distance. The mud pile in the distance was becoming more and more clear the closer Rune got to it, memories of the years spent hiding, living, sleeping... he loved each and every one of them.

As they approached the near shelter; Rune felt a lump in his throat. Pond squinted.

"Hey, bro?"

"Ain't thatta Sandwing?"

When Rune was close enough to land, his doubt got the best of him as a guilty lump sunk somewhere within him. It was a sandwing. One, he had known a little too well. Pond landed a little ways behind Rune as to observe the situation. Arid was outside the muddy dome, seeming to be debating with the desert-dwelling dragon. The guest seemed to be interrogating Rune's little brother; his sandy scales and blackened spots across his scales flaring up. The sandwing was at LEAST ten moons, if not older. Arid seemed unnerved and uncomfortable with the situation at hand.

"I had nothing to do with this!"

" _Are you sure?_ "

"Yes, absolutely- Rune!"

Arid pushed past the sandwing "visitor" and bounded up to the hybrid. Arid looked up to his bigwings, yellow eyes gleaming with worry. The otherwise-almost black mudwing looked almost in tears.  
" _Brother_ ," he said, panicked. " _This guy thinks I bombed the edges of their kingdom_!"

Rune felt his own doubts sink and slip away as he patted his brother's head. Pond barreled him over, and snarled at the visitor. The sandwing simply watched from afar; analyzing the mudwing siblings with judging eyes.

"How curious, my brother. I always knew you would fit in here." The sandwing approached them. Rune stood up a little straighter and placed himself between his sibs and the guest. The sandwing laughed.

"What?" He mused. "Am I not allowed to welcome or speak to my own half-kin? How rude of you."

"Lay off, Whiplash." Rune grumbled. Whiplash gave a genuine smile.

"Sorry, brother. I just wanted to ask-"

"He didn't do it."

Whiplash's eyes flickered with uncertainty. "I-"

Rune slammed his hind leg down with force as to interrupt his half-brother. "He. Didn't. Do it."

Avid looked up from his protection-cuddle with Pond. "Yeah! I was watching the lil' sis!"

Whiplash suddenly relaxed, and he blinked a few times, like it was a surprise.

"We, we have a sister...?" Rune nodded.

"If you didn't keep accusing my family of crimes, maybe you guys would meet more often!" He joked slightly. Whiplash let out a laugh. "Sorry, I'm just... terrible."  
"You are, you know." Avid called out. "Don't accuse before you know the facts!"

"So," Rune went slightly serious as he spoke. "You said the edges were bombed?"

Whiplash nodded, his tail flicked back and forth with anxiety. "Yeah, dragonfire cactus."

"You didn't think we weren't bombed either?"

Whiplash glanced around as if someone was watching, and began fidgeting with a nearby reed. "I- I had a feeling it wasn't you guys either." He admitted. "But I can't be too careful. You know what mom always said."

"Totally."

The several dragons waited in awkward silence for a bit, before a small cheery voice came out of a nearby bush.  
"Muse a'gotcha!"

Muse leapt and tackled Rune's side, and he let her ram into his side. He fell over dramatically; cradling the small dragon in his wings. Whiplash blinked as Muse looked at him with her brown and blue eyes. She sniffed. "Who's this? New friend?"

Rune smiled upsidown, and looked at whiplash. "Brother Muse, he's your brother."

Muse paused, and let out a squeal of joy. In an instant she was snuggled right up against Whiplash, who if he was uncomfortable before, definitely felt out of place now. The mudwing looked him over (Even tried to pounce on his tail, to which Whiplash had to move quickly to avoid it stabbing her), and decided he was good enough to curl up beside and take a nap. It all happened so fast, Whiplash didn't know what to think.

Rune grinned, rolling back onto his feet. Avid and Pond stood up to greet their newfound sib as well.

"I'm Pond! My twin is Pound, and this wee fella is Avid!"  
"I'm Avid. Please don't accuse me of anything. Our sister is Quiver. She's nice."

As the younger mudwings curled up around their small little sister, Rune looked at Whip.

"So, Whip, whatcha think? Better than your high social classes?" He snorted out a laugh. Whiplash huffed. "Oh, very funny mister I-Dropped-Out-Of-The-Best-Sandwing-Academy-Ever-To-Live-In-A-Mud-Pile. But, yes." He smiled down at the mudwings and laid a wing across them.

"I do think this is nice. But it's not solid enough."

Rune playfully punched WHiplash's side with a wing and the sandwing snickered. "What? I ain't no hybrid. I like the sand! And the cactus, and the oasis's, and..."

"The ladies."

"Definently."

They both laughed, as a familiar voice rang through the air.

"OI. . WHO'RE YOU?"

Rune looked up as did Whiplash. "Who's that...?"

"Oh, just the rest of the family."

"Nothing to fear here, bro."

* * *

 **Well, that was anti-climactic, wasn't it XD**

 **I guess that's what it was meant to be though, in the end. Consider this a filler chapter, since the main attraction; Orphius's chapter, is in the making.**

 **Cheers, darlings! Stay beautiful!**

 **-Sol**


End file.
